Judging Authors by the Color of Their Skin? Quality Native American Children's Literature

Abstract

In 1965, Nancy Larrick's All-White World of Children's Books identified the extent to which children's literature and those responsible for publishing it were biased against black children. This essay made teachers and librarians more aware of the dearth of black characters and subsequently characters from other ethnic groups in children's literature, at least characters who were not stereotyped or unrealistic. Three decades later, children's literature has become more diversified, but the debate about incorporating ethnic characters continues to spark controversy. These days, the controversy seems to be centered on who has the right to create ethnic stories and characters, a debate complicated by the notions of what makes a piece of literature ethnic. Do we categorize ethnic literature solely by the color of the author's skin? Or should we instead consider the authenticity and viewpoint of the text, no matter what the author's origins? And what about subject matter? If a story written by an Ojibwa author does not deal with topics indigenous to his or her people but instead tells of a more universal conflict, would we still categorize that book as American?1 I approach this debate over authenticity and quality through the realm of Native American texts for children's literature. The focus